u.s. health officials are looking into a dozen cases that may be caused by this same strain, and the new strain may explain why the nation has just had its worst year for whopping cough in the last 60 years. they do not believe that the whopping cough is more deadly, but people are getting sicker because the vaccine does not work against it. if your child plays sports, he may want to be less worried about injuries and more worried about the flu this year. experts say it is easy for germs to race through sports teams. player sure equipments. many parents are trying to keep children more healthy by washing everything more often. coaches say this is the worst year for the blue in a long time. >> i have never seen anything like it. in all my years of coaching, this has been the most difficult. >> the coughing and the hacking and people living around. -- laying around. >> there's not much to do about it except to keep the equipment clean and hope for quick recoveries. >> and for goodness sake,